Boston University vs. Ohio State for sports management: which program is better for a sports industry career?

The biggest practical tradeoff is that Ohio State offers a clearly defined undergraduate Sport Industry major embedded in a major athletics environment, while Boston University offers stronger day-to-day access to Boston’s professional teams, sports media, and event organizations. At Ohio State, students can study sport-specific subjects such as sport marketing, finance, law, and event management while drawing on the university’s extensive athletics operation. At BU, the path is less centered on a standalone undergraduate sports-management major, so students often build a sports career through business, hospitality, communications, or related coursework plus internships.

Ohio State has a particularly useful advantage for students who want structured preparation for areas such as college athletics administration, ticketing, sponsorship, athletic departments, facilities, or professional-team operations. Columbus also provides nearby opportunities with Ohio State Athletics, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Columbus Crew, and local sports and event organizations. The size of the university’s alumni network and its sports-business ecosystem can make it easier to find classmates, professors, and graduates already working in the field.

BU’s location can be a meaningful edge for a student who is proactive about internships during the academic year. Boston offers proximity to major professional franchises, collegiate athletics, sports media, agencies, endurance events, and venue operations. A BU student can combine a business-oriented or hospitality-oriented education with internships and student involvement, but they would need to be more intentional about creating a sport-management-focused résumé than an Ohio State Sport Industry major would.

For an undergraduate seeking the most direct academic route into a sports industry career, Ohio State is the stronger choice. Choose BU instead only if the Boston location, BU’s broader academic options, and access to internships in that market are compelling enough that you are comfortable designing your own sports-focused pathway.